Thursday, June 19, 2008

The winner of a Charles and Colvard-sponsored design competition was flown to the JCK Las Vegas show earlier this month, where her winning moissanite piece was displayed.

The competition, launched in the United Kingdom last year, was created to raise awareness of moissanite in the jewelry industry and to promote that more than 71 percent of moissanite customers are women who buy for themselves.

Julie Wright, a designer from Devon England, won the 2007 competition and received an all-inclusive trip to the JCK show. Her winning design is a moissanite pendant set in 18-karat gold and valued at approximately $4,000. The piece was chosen as the winner because it reflects the trend for soft and geometric pieces, encompassed in an innovative design.

"We believe that last year's theme would show that moissanite, set into 18-karat gold, would lead to the creation of a more fashion-forward approach, and Julie's stunning piece demonstrated this concept quite flawlessly," Dennis Allen, who administers the competition for Charles and Colvard, said in a media release.

The first phase of the 2008 design competition, "Adventurous Moissanite," which encourages applicants to create bold and adventurous moissanite designs, has already begun. A panel of U.K. judges is reviewing all the design entries submitted in the form of jewelry renderings and sketches, and five semi-finalist renderings will be selected. Those designers will be given moissanite jewels up to a value of $1,000 to use in the actual manufacturing of their design. Finally, one finalist will be selected to win an all-inclusive trip to the Hong Kong Jewelry Fair in 2009.